Savannah Mayor, DA respond after Daffin Park suspect’s 27-arrest history revealed

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Savannah Mayor Van Johnson and Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Jones are responding to questions about how Lashawa Doyle, the man charged with attempted rape at Daffin Park, was repeatedly released from jail despite more than two dozen prior arrests.

Lashawa Doyle, 30, was arrested Aug. 7, 2026, by Savannah Police and charged with criminal attempt to commit a felony, aggravated sexual battery, false imprisonment and public indecency in connection with an alleged assault on a woman at the park’s bathrooms.

City staff spotted a commotion and alerted a nearby off-duty officer, who intervened and stopped the assault. Doyle remained in custody of the jail for now.

Doyle had been released from jail 17 days before the alleged attack. In his last 15 arrests, he was released either on his own recognizance by the Sheriff or Judge Claire Williams... or on time already served.

Mayor: ‘Police did their job’

Johnson addressed the case at his weekly press conference, saying Savannah Police arrested Doyle each time he violated the law — but that the city has no control over what happens after an arrest.

Even quoting our reporting directly:

“This guy has been arrested 22 times or so since 2020, 22 times — 8 this year, and was released from custody just 17 days before,” Mayor Johnson said. “Our criminal justice system is bigger than police. If he’s been arrested 22 times, that meant that the police had done their job. We arrest someone. We turn them over to a criminal justice system we do not control.”

Johnson called the criminal justice system overwhelmed and overburdened and said more mental health services are needed.

“This individual should not continue to be on our streets, period, full stop,” Mayor Johnson said.

DA explains repeated releases

In a letter obtained by WTOC, DA Shalena Jones responded to criticism from Alderman Nick Palumbo in our previous reporting, whose district covers Daffin Park. DA Jones said most of Doyle’s charges were misdemeanors, which carry an automatic bond by law.

Doyle was released on his own recognizance 17 times in his criminal history— some by the Sheriff’s Office, some by the courts — meaning he was freed with a promise to return for his next court date.

He was released other times on credit for time already served. Doyle has never been held in jail longer than one year, according to the DA.

“My office is not present, involved or notified when OR bonds are issued by the jail,” Jones wrote. “Since this process takes place out of court and without a judge, we are not aware that the person has been arrested or released, and therefore do not have an opportunity to object.”

Jones clarifying her office is not notified when a suspect is released on their own recognizance. She also wrote that it is not until a person commits a serious offense that he or she can be held in custody for longer periods of time and that the issue of mental illness or competency can be raised before the court.

Jones said her office obtained ban orders and protection for businesses, property owners and victims involved in Doyle’s cases and worked with courts and counsel to fashion appropriate sentences. Doyle was banned from Dollar General anywhere.

“Even our best in-court efforts are sometimes not enough to prevent bad things from happening in the future,” Jones wrote.

Jones said cases involving individuals who are homeless, mentally ill or substance addicted present challenges for the criminal courts and require coordination among prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys, law enforcement, the Sheriff’s Department and service agencies.

She said she personally handled some of Doyle’s cases and that Judge Claire Cornwell-Williams, defense attorney Bobbie Foster and her office worked to hold Doyle accountable while also connecting him with services to address underlying issues.

Geoffrey Alls is also listed as a prosecutor on some of Doyle’s cases.

Jones directed Palumbo to the HOPE City Project and offered to meet with his constituents to answer questions.

22 arrests since 2020, repeated releases

Records show Doyle has been arrested 22 times since 2020, including 8 times in 2026 alone. Jones directed Palumbo to the Sheriff’s Office for additional information on the OR bonds. The 7 cases handled by her office in court-- resulted in jail sentences ranging from 10 days to one year, she said.

Judge, prosecutors face scrutiny over suspended sentences

In most of the cases handled in court, Judge Claire Williams sentenced Doyle to 12 months suspended — a non-reporting probation — or gave him credit for time already served, meaning he served no additional jail time.

Each suspended sentence carried conditions: Doyle was banned from locations where he had trespassed, prohibited from contacting victims and ordered to have no new arrests. Despite those conditions, Doyle was arrested repeatedly in the months following each sentencing.

A judge cannot revoke a suspended sentence without a motion brought by prosecutors. It is unclear why lower-level prosecutors never filed a motion to revoke Doyle’s suspended sentences following his subsequent arrests. Had such a motion been filed and granted, a judge could have imposed jail time or placed Doyle on supervised probation.

According to jail records, it doesn’t appear he ever received probation.

“Twenty-two times in six years — there’s something broken in the system that’s not working,” Palumbo said. “We need to find out what that is and fix it. We don’t deserve to have another victim in our community like this.”

Alderman Palumbo said he sent a letter to the DA’s office and reached out to Judge Williams’ office directly following our reporting.

“This is somebody that has time and time again violated the trust of our community,” Palumbo said. “And I would love to hear accountability from the judge, and I’ve asked from the district attorney’s office, their accountability mechanism to what is happening here.”

Doyle’s 2026 arrest record

Doyle’s eight arrests in 2026 reflect a pattern of short jail stays followed by quick releases. His record this year includes:

• Aug. 7 — Arrested on charges of criminal attempt to commit a felony, aggravated sexual battery, false imprisonment and public indecency at Daffin Park. Currently in custody.
• July 20 — Arrested on criminal trespass. Released on own recognizance 3 days later.
• June 20 — Arrested on criminal trespass. Released on own recognizance 4 days later.
• June 4 — Arrested on public indecency and criminal trespass outside SCAD housing. Released after 12 days on time served.
• April 30 — Arrested on criminal trespass and two counts of simple battery. Released after 20 days on time served.
• April 21 — Arrested on criminal trespass. Released on own recognizance 2 days later.
• April 5 — Arrested on criminal trespass. Released after 11 days on time served.
• Feb. 27 — Arrested in connection with an attack on a woman at a bus stop, leaving her with facial injuries. Held for nearly one month. He pleaded guilty; the judge ordered time served and he was released.

Doyle’s longest recent jail stay began with an arrest in August 2025 on two counts of criminal trespass and public indecency. He was held until Feb. 13, 2026. The bus stop incident occurred two weeks later.

Doyle is homeless and is banned from all Dollar General stores. It is not yet known whether he is banned from local homeless shelter facilities.

Former officer describes cognitive limitations

A former Savannah Police officer said he arrested Doyle multiple times and described a pattern of trespassing at a church near White Bluff Road and Randolph Street and at a nearby Family Dollar.

The former officer said Doyle appears to have significant cognitive limitations.

“He suffers from mental illness, possibly schizophrenic — talks to himself,” the former officer said. “I would say he’s probably like an eight- or 10-year-old, cognizant-wise. Maybe a teenager.”

The former officer said Doyle needs a different kind of intervention.

“He needs to go to a mental institution like Georgia Regional or something like that, where he could actually seek the help that he needs,” the former officer said.

Bystanders, officer credited with stopping assault

Palumbo credited city staff and bystanders who reported the incident, as well as the officer who responded.

“Credit to a bystander who reported this, who spotted a commotion and called it to the Savannah Police — and a credit to the Savannah Police Department and an officer that was off duty and nearby, who was able to run down and bring this person to justice and apprehend them,” Palumbo said. “We’re grateful. We’re thankful. We’re lucky, but we can’t be lucky forever. We need to demand accountability to see what’s happening in our community.”

“City staff were there, saw something, heard something and did something,” Palumbo said. “You always worry about the bystander effect — that people don’t want to get involved. This is a credit to the people who did get involved, who saw something unusual and alerted them. And it worked.”

State lawmaker calls system ‘broken’

Georgia State Rep. Jesse Petrea said he had been following coverage of the case.

“I was appalled again to discover yet another recidivist criminal who has been repeatedly in and out of our judicial system and repeatedly returned to the streets,” Petrea said. “This is the same old story over and over again. And sadly, the people of Chatham County have again been failed by the system.”

Petrea said the state has provided the judicial system with the tools needed to act.

“As a legislator, we have in Georgia provided every opportunity for the judicial system to hold anyone like this individual accountable for his crimes and to keep him away from the people — in the protection of the innocent and the frail and the vulnerable and the weak,” Petrea said. “All of that is there. It all hinges on one thing. And that is that the judicial system, our judges, our district attorneys and our sheriffs must do their job to hold these people accountable.”

“When you are bonding people out or releasing them on their own recognizance when they have repeatedly broken the law — this is just absolutely unacceptable,” Petrea said. “Several of these were violent and or sexual in nature. And then you have an occurrence like this. It’s what you can expect.”